Familiar
by Shadow Mage Evelyn
Summary: On a cold December day, Roy Mustang ponders the similarity between the words 'family' and 'familiar'. What significance could such a similiarity hold? ONESHOT. A little bit of Family!Military fluff! Please review!


Another fic featuring snow? Maybe I am secretly longing for winter? (shrug) I think it's more of a, dare I say….PLOT DEVIIIIIIIIIICE!! Lol, anyways, I hope you will enjoy this, and I hope you will leave a review!!

**Familiar**

It always amused Colonel Roy Mustang that the word _family_ and the word _familiar_ were so very similar to one another.

Okay, maybe not _always_, but in those times when he found himself walking back from his lunch break across the front courtyard of Eastern Command in the middle of December, little things like this current conundrum were often at the forefront of his mind—anything to distract from the bone-chilling wind blasting at him.

There had to be some sort of logical, linguistically sound tie between _family_ and _familiar_ he reasoned as he crunched across the ice-glazed sidewalks. He stopped to look around at the men hard at work shoveling the snow off the concrete. Already, the snow piles they had started this morning were becoming huge snowdrifts, some of the smallest coming well to Mustang's waist. It had been a pretty harsh winter so far, and weathermen were expecting there to be quite a few more bad snowstorms throughout the season. Mustang waved to the men who noticed him and then silently grumbled, hunching back up and sticking his head down deep into his scarf. He hated snow.

Anyway, he reminded himself as he continued on his way, no time to think about the snow. Why were those two words so similar to one another? he pondered. Maybe that was something he should pursue further. At least it would give him an excuse not to do his paperwork for another day. What an amusing little anecdote that would make at a social gathering: _Well, did you know that "family" and "familiar" are so similar to one another because…? Oh, ha ha ha, really? I didn't know that! Oh, yes! I discovered it myself the other day in this little book I found in a cozy corner of the library. I'd love to show it to you sometime, if you're interested…_

Yes, Mustang assured himself with a satisfied sigh; it would be a delightful conversation starter. He loved social gatherings. All the pretty women milling about, always eager to speak to him…

As soon as he entered the front door of the building, he found Lieutenant Riza Hawkeye waiting patiently for him in the lobby, a clipboard tucked in her left elbow.

"Good afternoon, sir," she greeted in her typically businesslike way, saluting him sharply and then stepping forward to take his coat and scarf from him. She promptly fell into step behind him as he started down the hallway towards his office, walking as if she had been there the whole time.

"Good afternoon, Lieutenant. How are things running at the office?"

"As per usual, sir. Shall I remind you of your schedule for the day?"

"Why not?"

"Well, sir, at 1400 hours, you have a telephone call with General Haruko, and at 1500 hours, you have another Scar briefing. At 1630 hours, you are scheduled to start your paperwork, and at 1700 you are scheduled for a chess rematch with General Grumman."

"I see. Anything else?"

"Yes, sir. Edward has returned from his latest mission and is waiting in the office to give you his report."

"Aha," Mustang replied, smirking. "Thank you, Lieutenant."

"Of course, sir."

Upon reaching the door to the office, they both perceived a loud commotion sounding out on the other side. For a moment, they hesitated and looked at one another, blinking confusedly, until Roy decided to brave the odds and open the door. The sight that met his eyes threw him completely off-balance, for there stood Lieutenant Jean Havoc with the Fullmetal Alchemist Edward Elric slung across both of his shoulders in a fireman's carry. Roy blinked. Scratch that. With both of the young blonde's wrists caught firmly in Havoc's right hand, and the man's left arm wrapped around his knees, the fifteen year old looked more akin to a sacrificial lamb that to anyone being rescued from a burning building. The two of them were clearly the source of the commotion, seeing as how Edward was clearly distraught at his current state of affairs and how Havoc seemed to be in no hurry to return the young alchemist to his feet.

"What's going on here?" Roy asked, adopting the voice of a superior addressing a subordinate. He could well guess, but needed the time to debate whether or not he wanted to intervene.

"Oh, nothing, sir," Havoc replied, cutting in above Edward's protests. "Just a basic reminder that, in some cases, size _does_ matter."

"Oh, shut up!" Edward responded, knowing a veiled jab at his height when he heard one. Roy folded his hands behind his back.

"Ah, I see. Insulted your intelligence again, did he?" he asked the blue-eyed man. Havoc moved his cigarette from the left side of his mouth to the right.

"Sure did."

"I was just _teasing_!" the young alchemist disputed, squirming ineffectually and kicking his feet lamely in a pathetic attempt to get free. "It was a _joke_!"

Roy smirked.

"Okay, then. Carry on."

"_WHAT??"_ Edward squawked, looking betrayed, while Havoc grinned.

"Thank you, sir!" the man chirped. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to help the chief here find that snowdrift with his name on it…"

"_WHAAAAAAAAAT??"_ Edward shrieked as Havoc readjusted his grip and moved past Mustang into the hallway.

"_You're joking, right?? _Havoc, please tell me you're joking!! Havoc? _Havoc!! It was a __**joke!!**_You know I didn't mean it, right?? You're not as stupid as a cow in a burger joint!! I was kidding!! You know that, right? Right?? Havoc? _Havoc!! Please don't put me in a snowdrift!! ARGH! I'LL GET YOU FOR THIS, COLONEL BASTARD!! JUST YOU WAIT!!!!!"_

They disappeared down the hallway, though everyone in the Colonel's office could still here Edward's cries for mercy. Lieutenant Heymans Breda grabbed his coat, grinning wickedly.

"This I _gotta_ see up close," was the only explanation he offered before dashing out. Without a word, Warrant Officer Vato Falman and Master Sergeant Kain Fuery followed the portly man, as did Edward's younger brother, Alphonse Elric. The suit of armor looked a bit frantic as he scurried out, squealing something to the point of "Brother's going to be _so_ mad when he gets free!!" before disappearing around the bend. With a chuckle, Roy moved to the window in enough time to see Havoc come running out into the back courtyard, still laden with his captive, who was screaming for assistance.

"You know, sir, you really shouldn't encourage such behavior," Hawkeye said at his back. Roy smirked, listening to Havoc's threats of, "Is it this one? No? Maybe it's _this_ one!" and Edward's screeches of dismay echoing dimly through the glass.

"Aw, let them have their fun, Lieutenant. It's so rare when Fullmetal comes around that I think they miss him sometimes."

He smiled as he watched Havoc finally heave poor Edward into a particularly deep snowdrift and heard the young alchemist's high-pitched yelp that was no doubt a product of snow going straight down his back and into his pants. Breda and the others stood at the doorway laughing while Alphonse looked on worriedly, though clearly the younger boy knew better than to get into the range of his brother's fire. Finally, Edward managed to squirm his way to his feet and shook a fist at Havoc, shouting, "That's cold, you jerk!!" before clapping his hands and touching the snow. A flurry of transmuted snowballs went flying at Havoc, who had wisely anticipated the move and ducked behind a tree. He popped out a moment later to smack Edward in the face with a snowball of his own. In the next few seconds, all hell broke loose as the others waiting at the door rushed out to join in the free-for-all fray.

Roy smiled down at the scene.

"Besides, it's good for them. They work better as a team if they are allowed to build these kinds of bonds. Understand, Lieutenant?"

He couldn't see the woman's smile, but he felt it.

"Yes, sir."

"Now then, I think I'll go take a look at Fullmetal's report while I have the time."

"Yes, sir."

As he headed to his desk, Mustang realized that it was not just a coincidence that _familiar_ and _family_ were so similar to one another. The originators of all language had known exactly what they were doing when they'd formed those two words. After all, your _family_ was always the people you were most _familiar_ with. Sitting down in his large, plush leather chair with Lieutenant Hawkeye at his side and listening to the continuous hubbub carrying outside, Roy Mustang understood for the first time why he always felt most at home while he was at work.

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Oh, go on! Say it! You know you can't resist it! "AWWWWWWWW!!!"

A little bit of Family!Military fluff to brighten the day! I hope you enjoyed it, and I hope you'll leave a review!!


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